My Guardian Angel Wears Orange
by No Guns Only Roses
Summary: Karai never used to believe in guardian angels, but now she knew that she had one all along. A one-shot about Karai coping with the death of Michelangelo. Part of the "Mourning" storyline.


**So Guest Anon requested a one-shot featuring Karai during and after "Expendable". Hope you enjoy it, Anon! :)**

 **NOTE: There will probably be grammar mistakes which I will fix later.**

"I choose Michelangelo."

Karai gasped in horror. "Father, no!" she shouted. "Please, don't do this!" She looked up Shredder, who was now standing over Mikey and extending his blades even further. "Saki, please!" she begged him. "Don't kill him!"

The monsterous mutant ignored her and raised his arm, preparing to strike.

"Sak-" She bit her lip and shut her eyes. She really didn't want to resort to this but... "Father, please!"

Shredder paused and looked over at her.

"I'll come back home," she desperately told him. "I'll do anything you want. Just please...don't hurt him."

He seemed to consider her offer for a moment...but then he slashed Mikey right across the face.

"NO!" she screamed as Mikey fell to the ground, spitting out blood. Then Shredder struck him again. And again. And again. Some of the blood splattered on Karai's face and she let out a shriek. The Turtle groaned in pain as he was being slashed to death, and Shredder showed absolutely no mercy. Mikey's brothers were screaming and begging for him to stop while Splinter looked away, unable to bring himself to watch his son die.

Karai soon tuned out Mikey's dying sounds, herself, and closed her eyes, hot tears sliding down her cheeks. This was all wrong, and she blamed herself for it.

 _This is all my fault! I shouldn't have been so careless and let my guard down! And now Mikey is paying for my mistakes! This shouldn't be happening, not to_ him _of all people!_

When the slashing finally stopped, Karai hesitantly opened her eyes and gasped at the gruesome sight before her. Mikey was covered in deep lacerations from head to toe. Not even his shell was spared from Shredder's onslaught. And the blood. There was blood everywhere.

But worst of all, Mikey wasn't breathing. He just lay there lifelessly on the floor.

"M-Mikey...?" Karai whispered shakily, hoping that she would get a response, a groan, a whimper, anything. But Mikey didn't move or make a sound.

There was no denying it. Michelangelo was dead.

Shredder said some cruel words to Splinter before turning to Karai, glaring at her with cold blue eyes. "You made the mistake of rejecting me," he hissed. "I've sacrificed _everything_ for you, yet you continue to spit in my face and despise me so. Therefore, I am severing all ties with you, and you will soon meet the same fate as that freak, Hamato Miwa."

After the Shredder left the building with his henchmen, Leo, Raph and Donnie held their dead brother and wept.

"Leo, I'm..." she whispered, "I'm so sorry. I never wanted this to..." But Leo didn't pay any attention to her and continued to caress Mikey's scarred face. Raph gently kissed the scars while Donnie held his brother's hand and kissed it. The sight absolutely broke Karai's heart. For the first time in years, she wailed like a child and fell on her face, grieving for her little reptilian brother. She eventually looked up and saw Leo standing over Splinter and pointing his sword at the rat's throat.

"Do you wish to kill me now?" she heard Splinter say.

"More than anything," Leo coldly responded.

Karai instantly sat back up and began to panic as the leader raised his sword. She opened her mouth to scream at Leo, but then he sliced through the chains that bound Splinter, much to her great relief and confusion.

"No one else is dying tonight," Leo said as he walked over to Karai and cut her chains. She brushed them off and stood up, putting a comforting hand on Leo's shoulder. But he shook it off and turned his shell to her. She figured he must've blamed her for his brother's death and the guilt stabbed at her heart.

"What..." she softly said, "what will you do now, Leo?"

"I don't know," Leo said, kneeling over Mikey's body. "But one thing's for sure, we are _not_ returning to the lair. Ever again." He looked over his shoulder at her and gave her a sad smile. "Live a long, happy life...Miwa."

Miwa. That was the first time Leo ever called her by her real name. She was a little relieved that he apparently didn't hold a grudge against her and wished to depart on good terms. But she knew that things would never be the same again. Not for anyone.

She sadly watched as Leo picked up the limp Mikey in his arms and carried him away with Raph and Donnie following close behind. After they left, she went over to her father and wrapped her arms around him in a comforting embrace. But he just knelt there, staring down at the floor with his ears flattened.

* * *

She guided him to his bed and tucked him in. Her father hadn't said a word during the entire trip back to the sewers, and she was greatly concerned about him.

"Father?" Karai whispered as she soothingly rubbed his back, "do you...do you want me to get you something?"

The rat didn't respond. He just lay there, staring blankly at the wall. He was a completely broken and despondent shell of the man he used to be. Although she was reluctant to leave him alone, she couldn't bear to stay in the room and see him like this, so she got up and quietly slid the doors shut before heading into the kitchen.

She heard a soft meow coming from the freezer and immediately knew what it was. She opened the door and sure enough Ice Cream Kitty was sitting there, looking at her with little black eyes.

She smiled sadly at the mutant cat. "Hi, Ice Cream Kitty. I'm Karai." She stroked the top of her head and then scratched her chin. She then braced herself to reveal the horrible truth. "I don't know if you can understand me, but...Kitty, your master's not coming back. Ever."

ICK's eyes seemed to widen. The cat did, in fact, understand. "Meow?"

"I'm so sorry," Karai whispered, blinking back tears. "But I promise to take care of you okay?"

* * *

 **Two days later...**

"Father?" She stepped into the dark bedroom and Splinter was kneeling on the floor with his back to her. "Breakfast. Your ramen's getting cold-"

She gasped in horror as she noticed the glint of the blade that he held in his hand. He raised the knife and aimed it at his heart.

"FATHER! NO!" Karai sprinted into the room and snatched the weapon out of Splinter's hand. The rat was surprised by Karai's sudden appearance, his eyes bloodshot from exhaustion and crying.

"Miwa...?" he croaked, his voice sounding so broken and defeated.

Karai tossed the knife aside and engulfed her father in a tight hug, hiding her face in his shoulder. "Father," she choked, feeling another fresh wave of tears coming, "please don't. I can't bear to lose you, too. You're all I have left. Please..." She clenched at his robe, her shoulders shaking as she wept. "Please don't leave me all alone...!"

She heard him let out a heavy sigh and felt his chin rest on her shoulder. He reached up and soothingly rubbed her back. "Forgive me, my daughter. I just can't..." He sighed again and nuzzled her hair with his long nose. "The guilt is too much for me to bear. My Michelangelo is dead. And I...I was the one who killed him." His voice cracked and he started to tremble.

Karai's heart broke right in half for her father. She couldn't possibly imagine the guilt and anguish that he was feeling right now. It was clear that she should never let him out of her sight lest he would hurt or even worse kill himself.

She wished that the Turtles were here. She wished that Mikey was here.

* * *

"Shini, listen, we have to disband the Foot."

Karai and her dearest friend Shinigami sat on the ledge of a high building, watching the city lights together. The young witch looked over at her friend in disbelief. "What? But why?"

Karai gently touched Shini's shoulder. "I can't rule an entire clan _and_ look after Father at the same time. You understand, don't you?"

Shini frowned and shook her head. "But...everything we have worked so hard for...you're willing to just...throw it all away?"

"My father comes first," Karai said. "And he needs me now more than ever. Just a couple of nights ago he tried to kill himself. I can't afford to lose him. Besides, I refuse to associate myself with the Foot after what happened to Mikey. I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

Her friend sighed and looked down at the streets below, the night wind making her hair flow around her face. "All right, _senpai_ ," she softly said. "I understand." She looked back at her friend and smiled a little. "Maybe after we arrive in Japan, we could rebuild the Hamato house and-"

"Actually, Shini," Karai interrupted, looking sadly at her, "I'm not going back to Japan."

Immediately Shini's smile dropped. "...What?"

"I'm staying here in America with Father."

"...So you...so you won't..."

"I'm sorry, Shini," she reached for her best friend's hand and held it. "But I can't leave. If you'd like, you can stay here with me. I'd really like that."

Shini bit her lower lip and glanced away. "But what if I don't want to stay? What if I want to go back home?" Her eyes glistened with tears as she looked back at Karai. "Would you still stay, even though this would probably be the last time we ever see each other?"

Karai sighed and nodded her head, giving Shini's hand a gently squeeze. "Yes," she whispered painfully.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Shini's brows lowered in anger and she ripped her hand away, a single tear escaping and sliding down her cheek. She stood up and glared down hatefully at Karai. "Fine," she spat before she walked away.

"Shini, wait!" Karai stood up and tried to chase after her. But then Shinigami used her powers to disappear in a flock of bats which flew away before Karai could reach her.

Karai watched with tears in her eyes as the bats disappeared into the night. With the recent death of ICK, who melted away while searching for her master, she now felt even more alone than ever.

* * *

She walked into Mikey's room for the first time since she moved into the lair weeks ago.

Before, she wouldn't come in out of respect for Mikey, but she wanted to learn more about the Turtle who sacrificed himself for her and his brothers. She had to admit she never saw a room so filthy and disorganized, and the figures that rested on the shelves were just so weird. Empty pizza boxes and magazines were scattered all over the floor, and she could've sworn that she saw a cockroach scurry past her foot.

Hard to believe that _this_ was the room that Mikey said he'd give her before he...

Karai felt a lump form in her throat and swallowed around it.

She noticed a teddy bear that was sitting on the pillow. She sat down on the bed and picked it up, gingerly holding it in her hands. As she rubbed her thumbs over the duct tape that was wrapped around it, she suddenly had a flashback. A distant memory of when she was just a baby.

Strange green creatures wearing multi-colored masks surrounded her and her mother, and she felt a little scared. They were so scary-looking. But then the one that was wearing orange smiled brightly and started to sing and dance. The fear was instantly gone and she squealed in delight, wanting to see more. She felt safe around him.

Karai gasped softly and almost dropped the bear in surprise as she realized that the creature from her memories was actually Mikey. And his brothers were there, too. Boy, she had so many questions to ask her father later.

Smiling tearfully, she hugged the bear close to her chest and closed her eyes. Mikey had always looked after his sister, even if she didn't know it, and he protected her to the very end.

 _"It's okay, Karai. It's me, Mikey. Your brother."_

 _"You know, you can always move in with us. You are part of the family, after all."_

She never used to believe in guardian angels, but now she knew that she had one all along.

And he wore orange.

 **Guest reviewers are just as special to me as official reviewers. So if you have a request, go right ahead and ask me! And I'll try to do it for you! :)**


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